FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY OF WESTCHESTER |
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In-Person and Online Worship, Sunday, September 12
“Standing on Principle”
Rev. Arlin Roy
10:30am [Note time]
We invite you to join us for an in-person Ingathering Service at the home of Alan and Amada Murray, 41 Hollywood Drive, Hastings-on-Hudson. Attendance is limited to 25 people. Click here to sign up.
Parking is limited, so please carpool if you can. We will observe Covid safety precautions, with everyone wearing a mask and keeping socially distant from those not in your household.
We will also stream the service online on Zoom.
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We are holding gatherings and Sunday services online. Check our website fusw.org and Facebook page for information and updates.
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Upcoming Events
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Saturday, September 18, 11:00am, Meditation ~ Outdoors at FUSW (please bring your own chair, no bathroom facilities), or via Zoom. Contact June Sidman (junesey2010@yahoo.com) for details.
Upcoming Worship - Beginning Sunday, Sept 12, our start time returns to 10:30am.
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Sunday, September 19, 10:30am - “New Beginnings” ~ Rev. Arlin Roy
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Sunday, September 26, 10:30am - “I Know What You Mean” ~ John Freund
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To be sure you see all the news, go to the top of the newsletter and click “Don't Get Clipped...” to open the full Scoop in your browser.
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Share the Plate for September: Neighbors Link
Neighbors Link supports new immigrant families with empowerment, education, and opportunities. We are especially grateful that Neighbors Link is helping provide the workforce for our building recovery efforts. We collect for our Share-the-Plate partner throughout the month. Visit fusw.org, click “Donate,” and select “Share the Plate.”
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Our Faith Family
Because of the combined challenges of the pandemic and recent flood damage at our building, we will reschedule an online gathering to honor and share memories of longtime FUSW member Pat Calahan to a later date. Details to come.
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Message from the Minister
These are the words Rev. Arlin Roy shared with the congregation that gathered for the special service held outside FUSW this past Monday, September 6.
Building Grief
We meet today with our beloved congregation’s devastated building. There is not much of our furniture, carpets, or walls that can shelter us from storm and stress. This building once sheltered the hopes and dreams, the grief, and cherished memories that sustained us for many years. This has been the scene of much celebration. We have sung and danced here. We have mourned for ourselves and our family members and friends. We have learned new ways of being spiritual in a corrupt and violent world. We have struggled to define what it means to be most human despite ignorance, arrogance, and hopelessness. We have been generous with each other and the wider world because we could assemble here and gain a sense of community strength and purpose. Right now, our sanctuary from the storm has been overwhelmed.
Are you hurt? I am. Are you angry? I am. Are you tired beyond all normal fatigue from a long day? I am. Are you outraged about climate change complacency? I am. We have a right to mourn. We have a right to share that with each other. That has been and remains our strength.
What remains is to create, to cherish, and to sustain whatever can make human life a song and a bit of laughter. Life is insecure. On our frail shoulders rests the hard but glorious job of deepening it and enriching it. There is a voice within us that calls us to be more tender, more spiritual, even as we fight against the brute power of circumstance. We must put beauty in the place of ugliness, laughter in the place of tears. We are all ministers in the congregation of Love. Just as we have individually come out of the darkness of eternity as dreamers, lovers, creators — companions to trees, birds, and evening stars — so we have also joined together to companion each other as we travel into the unknown.
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Donation Appeal
To help fund the extensive recovery work ahead, we have set up a GoFundMe site to make donations online. Please visit to make a contribution, then spread the word by sharing the link on your Facebook page and other social media: gofund.me/8d16de99. If you prefer, you may mail a check with the memo "FUSW Recovery" to First Unitarian Society of Westchester, 25 Old Jackson Ave, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10708. Thank you!
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FUSW in the News
Last Saturday, News 12 Westchester reporter Erica Young came to FUSW and interviewed Rev. Arlin Roy and member Craig Butler about the flood damage. The story has helped share our plight with the greater community. Click here to see the News 12 story.
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Book Group
The FUSW Book group is reading If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin. Join us in reading and discussing this classic novel. All are welcome! Please contact Denise Woodin (dcw2@optonline.net) to be notified of the discussion date.
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FUSW Contacts & Information
Questions, Concerns, or Compliments for FUSW?
Reach out to any member of our Board of Trustees, fusw.org/board-of-trustees (place cursor over picture, then right-mouse click to copy email).
The Board of Trustees meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Meetings begin at 7:30pm. We are currently meeting online. Meetings are open to any member of FUSW. If the Board enters into executive session to discuss personnel or confidential matters, non-Board will be asked to leave for that portion of the meeting. At the end of the meeting there will be an open forum, moderated by the President, during which non-Board members can speak about topics of concern. We ask that you limit your remarks to two minutes. This forum will last from five to ten minutes, depending on the Board agenda. Please contact any Board member if you have questions or comments. To access the minutes from previous meetings, visit the Members page of fusw.org and click on Board Minutes Archive. Click here to join our meeting on Zoom.
Scheduling Online Meetings
To schedule a Zoom online meeting for your committee or program group, contact Rina Schunk (admin@fusw.org) with the purpose, date, and time you need, as well as information you want included in the Scoop. Rina will check availability, schedule the calendar, and send you the invitation link.
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The Scoop e-newsletter is sent out each week. Have news to share? Submit articles to our administrator, Rina Schunk, at admin@fusw.org by Wednesday at 10:00am. To schedule events on the FUSW Calendar, contact Rina Schunk at admin@fusw.org
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We are a liberal religious community
shaping the world in our image of love
Deepening Spirituality · Nurturing Community · Advancing Justice
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